The Enduring Legacy of the Tiananmen Square Massacre

The massacre in Beijing 25 years ago on Wednesday still has repercussions today

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For 25 years, the Chinese government has tried to expunge the June 4, 1989, massacre in Tiananmen Square from history to prevent people inside the country from learning about the event. To this day, in China, you can’t search the word Tiananmen, or for the word tank man, or for June 4th.

In the video above, TIME’s Bejiing Correspondent, Emily Rauhala, discusses the legacy of the massacre.

For more on the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre, TIME spoke with three former students who witnessed the bloody events a quarter of a century ago.